Sankofa: An Inherently Religious Dimension of African Education

Abstract

In recent years new emphasis has been placed upon the role and importance of African traditional (indigenous) education and its special place in the curriculum. This emphasis is demonstrated by highlighting how the concept of African traditional education became the focal point in a course in educational philosophy taught in Jos, Nigeria in August of the years 2000 and 2002. The essay explores three areas: context, texts, and life-texts. This essay addresses African traditional education for what it is, namely, a deeply religious component in the formation of the African person and community. The essay argues in favor of maintaining the place of the traditions in present day African education. The terms African traditional education and African indigenous education are used synonymously. The essay supports the work of other African philosophers of education who have written in favor of a distinctively African form of philosophy of education. For Africans, formal courses in philosophy of education should be centred upon African wisdom rather than adapted from Western models, although Western models do have a place in these courses. It should be kept in mind that the author of this essay is an expatriate. There is far more to Sankofa than is portrayed in these pages. Hence, it is critical that would be African philosophers of education be trained in such a manner that they can more fully develop the concept of Sankofa than is expressed here (Njoroge & Benaars, 1986). This chapter argues in favor of a traditionally African philosophy of education. It is written with deep respect for the people and culture of Africa, from which the world has much to learn. Context, part one, describes the circumstances and setting in which the course in educational philosophy is taught. Texts, part two, illustrates the major areas of course content with specific reference to oral, written, and visual texts. The concept